Victori-Bleach
by ScottyBgood
Summary: This story haunted me, so here it Please give it a Tori has a mystery to solve, her day just seems kinda off, and she is determined to know I don't own Pre-Jori
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing. Not even a black kimono. Well, I guess it's more important to note that I don't own the intellectual rights to any of this.

Takes place after the Aizen saga ends. But before any of Bleach season 15. I did use some spoilers I read about who was in charge of the various squads at the beginning of the 15th season. Not that divisions 9 has two lieutenants. I hope that makes sense.

Takes place after Victori-Yes. However Beck and Jade have broken up, again.

I didn't bother to look up the names for every detail from Bleach. Live with it.

:}

Tori woke up feeling just a bit off. She could not put her finger on why, she just knew somehow, something was wrong. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. Finally, after several minutes of looking around and not being able to see anything wrong, she decided she had to get up and face her day. Dragging her tired self out of bed, she took her bath and otherwise did her morning routine. She could not remember when she stopped being a morning person. Maybe whatever was wrong was draining her energy? It didn't matter, because as soon as she finished her bath she was feeling more awake. Trina was already out, having gotten up and left before Tori awoke. Tori was grateful that her sister was so much more a morning person than she was. It gave her a buffer for her day.

By the time Tori was dressed, had breakfast and was ready for her day, Trina was back from her morning exercise routine. Trina still insisted on jogging every morning, no matter how many onlookers ogled her body. Worse, Trina still needed to bath and change, but she's taken care of a lot of the morning chores while running around the place. Tori was still having that nagging feeling that something was off, just not the way it should be. She just couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, something was different. It had been building for days, slowly etching that feeling in her mind. She shrugged it off and headed out to review her division. They would be up, their barracks cleaned and ready for inspection, or they would face Trina's wrath. Tori was glad her sister was both eligible and willing to be her lieutenant. Trina could be a royal pain in the ass, but she kept the Division on it's toes and made Tori's job a lot easier. The ninth division of the soul society's 13 court guards was, for some reason, not the easiest unit to command, but she was the captain and it was her duty to see to it that they were ready for whatever assignments that might be given to them. And between assignments, she'd make sure they were trained, ready, and often busy doing something.

Tori was aware that she didn't have the best reception from the soul reapers. It seemed that most of the soul reapers agreed that there was something off with Tori. Not just her, but almost half the captains and several lieutenants were seen as 'off'. While she could agree that her sister was defiantly different, it bothered her that so many others were being perceived that way. They got the respect for their positions as captains, but that was often it. Of course, most of their subordinates tried to keep their opinions quiet and show due respect. The raw power of a captain was more than enough to guarantee that kind of respect, and most of the 'suspect' captains were strong, arguably stronger than average. Tori reviewed these officers in her mind again, looking for clues as to why she felt off.

Division three's captain, Andre Harris, was one of her dearest friends. His lieutenant, Izuru, wasn't seen as different, but Andre was. Still, he was a strong and versatile fighter and a boon to have around. His sword has the power to use sound as a weapon, and can be deadly both in hand to hand, where the vibrating blade can cut just about anything, or at range, where the sound waves can still rip you apart. He was no slouch when it came to Kido, soul reaper magic, so he had a lot of options. He was obsessed with music, always playing an instrument, so his understanding of sound enhanced his blades abilities. She knew he had mastered his Bankai, but Tori for the life of her couldn't remember what it did. Alas, Andre was also a lover of beautiful women, a classic character flaw.

Division five was another with a captain who was see as a bit off. Given the personalities of the society, that was saying something. A mature and grounded young man, Captain Beck Oliver had the power of impersonation. His sword could alter his physical form and allow him to infiltrate enemy camps. He could even imitate the powers of the forms he took on, but only at about seventy percent of his own strength. Against stronger foes, it was better for him to take on his own form and use his sword in the more traditional ways. He also had a nice mix of sword and spells, and was another captain who's Bankai was not openly known. His lieutenant is Momo Hinamori, whom many feel got lucky to have such a handsome and caring captain as Beck to look out for her. She's another of the 'Normal' ones, though she seemed to have more trouble trusting her handsome captain than most girls would. Maybe a broken heart? Tori couldn't worry about it. Beck was a great guy, and took care of his own. Tori noted he was another of her friends.

Then there is division seven. Even Tori has to admit that Captain Rex powers is a weird one. He barely has the power of a captain, but that's to be expected because he's the released form of Robbie Shapiro's sword. Robbie's own power level is about a lieutenants, but that's because he's sharing with Rex. Together, they have the power of an above average captain. Rex has the abilities to be captain, to move on his own and to command. He just cannot go to far away from Robbie. That's why Robbie is a member on detached status, functionally co-lieutenant, but not the official second in command. Outside of the upper officers, captains and lieutenants, most of the guards think Rex is real, and just a short, puppet like person. They have no idea the complicated relationship between him and Robbie. Like how Robbie has a sword, despite Rex existing and having one of his own. Or how Rex can make a duplicate of himself to help in combat or grow to twelve feet tall, and Robbie can use his blade to generate caustic bolts of some kind of acidic substance. It's all part of the magic that is Rex and Robbie. Tetsuzaemon Iba, or 'Shades' as Rex calls him, is the official lieutenant. Another 'normal' one. And as a refugee from division eleven, he'd be expected to be a little off. Rex makes people around him seem normal. Rex's Bankai was the ability to make a small army of copies of himself and send them into combat, overwhelming his foes with sheer numbers of near captain strength fighters.

Then there was the captain of Division eleven, a division that deserved to have almost anyone associated with it seen as suspicious, off or both. Tori had to admit even she was nervous about Captain Jade West. The second most powerful captain, nearly as powerful as Captain Yamamoto, Captain West, or Jade to one of her few friends, was a terror to behold. Functionaly mastered in both sword and spell, as well as skilled in unarmed combat, Jade is a psychotic whirlwind of distruction on the battlefield. Only a few things keep her in check. First, she actually hates needless combat. Tori noted that attitude was so unlike the rest of her division. They'd remove her, except there isn't anyone except maybe Yamamoto himself who can match her power. Her spirit force is unbelievable, and she can focus it into raw strength, speed and power making her an almost unstoppable force. Second, She's contained by her friend. Beck and her used to date, and the rest of the 'suspicious' ones are friends or near enough that she has to be careful so as to not accidentally hurt them. Her biggest weakness is that she has so much power she sometimes puts too much in whatever she's doing. Her closest female friend is Cat Valentine, her lieutenant. Cat's functionally captain strength, but lacks the drive or ability to run a division on her own.

Jades sword, the scissoring, gives her the ability to cut almost anything, at range, but the further away the target is, the weaker the cutting power. Not that most foes could hope to get far enough away to resist the being sliced apart. The cutting force seems to be physical, an almost telekinetic extension of her spirit power, but much more controlled. Jade can make big or small cuts, multiple or singular, and can dice most things with a single stroke. Cat, on the other hand, has the ability to generate solid images and have these phantoms fight for her. It's truly disturbing to have a pink plush bear shredding a hollow, but that's what you get with Lieutenant Valentine. Most of the members of the thirteen court guards hope that neither of them have mastered their Bankai, but Tori suspected they just didn't feel the need to show it off. Jade was strong enough as is, and Cat's would probably cause nightmares. Both are 'suspect', but at lest in Jades case, it makes sense. Jade was, strangely, out for as week with injuries from a recent mission that left her drained and almost burned out. Now that she had recovered, Tori wondered at the specifics of what could have done that to her. Best not to ask.

Tori, or Captain Vega, was herself a strong fighter but physically the weakest of the captains. Her speed, faster than even Jade, was what made up the difference. Her fighting style used both the speed, representing her flash step, and her spirit energy to slash through her enemies. Her sword, Windscar, could control the wind and create blades of air that would slice up her foes. She had a good understanding of kido, both for spells and to cover her blade to make her cuts that much more deadly. Finally, her Bankai increased her control of the winds, allowing her to disrupt and scatter her foes as well as shredding those too weak to get away. Tori's power, her attitude and her beauty made her a popular if 'suspicious' captain. Trina, on the other hand, barely had the spirit power of a lieutenant. Her physical strength, however, exceeded Jade's before the black haired captain revved it up with her spirit energy. Trina added a lot of skill in unarmed combat to her physical power and was easily a threat without her spiritual force. Trina's sword became gauntlets when released, focusing and enhancing her blows.

Trina was a good officer. Of the 'suspect' ones, Trina was the most well received. The rest of her group of friends were not liked as officers. Beck was too laid back and relaxed, often letting his subordinates work problems out before intervening, and his abilities as an infiltrator tended to distract from his true abilities as a warrior and as a leader. Andre was too obsessed with is music and looking for the perfect woman to for his subordinates tastes, despite his abilities abilities. Robbie and Jade were both feared more than respected, and Cat was so nice almost no one could believe she was so powerful. That and her tendency to generate winged unicorns and ride them. Tori herself cam across as a wimp until she cut loose, so her subordinates tended to prefer Trina who came across as so much closer to what a traditional officer should be. Of course, other captains had shown many of the same flaws, but for some reason this group was seen as almost outsiders. Tori wondered if it was because they all came from about the same class? It was one of the few things Tori just knew, with the exception of her older sister, they had all come from the same graduating class.

All these thoughts swam in her head as Tori, or captain Vega as her division called her, was making her morning rounds. Later, after she made sure her men were doing what they were supposed to and had her morning exercises, she would face the inevitable paperwork every captain had to do. Maybe, after that she would go to the Soul Reaper academy and visit her favorite teacher. Sikowitz was a guiding hand in her and all her friends development. He was almost as talented as the captain of the Kido Force, and a far better trainer than almost anyone in the soul society. His skills with the sword and with unarmed combat were excellent, but his spiritual power was only about that of a lieutenant, and he was far more valuable in the academy than in one of the divisions. Still, he was weird but friendly, and Tori, Jade, Beck, Andre, Cat, Robbie and Trina all saw him as a mentor. Even today, Tori liked to go back and talk to him about the things going on and sometimes his crazy teaching techniques would help her see a solution she might otherwise miss.

Tori needed something to help her think clearly. She was still struggling with that sense that something was off. It had been bothering her for the past week, and no matter what she tried, she just couldn't shake it. The other captains seemed to think Tori was just letting her imagination get the better of her, and Jade made fun of her, again. It felt normal. Tori could not explain why, but Jade being mean to her was normal.

Then there was the memories. Some of her memories just didn't fit. Again, she could never put her finger on why, but it felt like she had more memories than years of life. Her memories of her time in the academy, of the various battles she fought, of the day to day running of her division. It all felt slightly off. To make things worse, she was sure the others felt it too, but they just blew it off as normal. Tori was not the type to just accept that something like this was normal. That was why she needed to talk to Sikowitz. This feeling would stick with her until she figured out what was off and fixed it.

To the casual outside viewer, Tori's day was just like any other. Train her troops, or watch Trina train them. Paperwork. God there was a lot of paperwork. Then free time until someone needed her for anything. Tori heard that the third seat in division 11 had tried to fight Jade, again. He was a powerful fighter with near captain strength and an attitude that matched division eleven perfectly. He also had a Bankai that he thought no one knew about, but was still just under captain strength. She briefly compared him with Renji, who was stronger, at captain level, and had his Bankai but was still not ready to be a captain. Tori shook it off and came back to the present situation. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason Ikkaku would not accept Jade as his captain. This was his second challenge. The first was yesterday, after she finally recovered from whatever mission left her so hurt and burned out that it took days for division four to heal her. Tori decided to watch, and make sure no one got seriously hurt. More specifically, that Jade didn't just shred her underlings.

Ikkaku would hate it if he ever found out Tori was there to protect him, but unless his captain dropped her guard, Jade would dominate this fight. Even the full release of her spiritual pressure was enough to force most of her division, through the fourth seat, to their knees. Tori suspected that Jade's weakness lay in her overwhelming strength. She was hard to beat, but that caused her to think in terms of raw power instead of strategy. Jade could be beaten by finesse, intelligent use of resources, or just avoiding the confrontation. Jade refused to do anything at less than peak ability, and would often spend longer than needed on the paperwork to make sure it was right. While Ikkaku was known as a hard trainer, his men were often thankful when he was the one training them. Jade expected so much out of everyone around her. Trina often said that "Jade needs to get laid." Ikkaku had better hope that's not the case, Jade was dangerous enough without any added frustration.

Tori reviewed the rules for the challenge. A fight to the death in front of the whole division. Jade, of course, wasn't one to follow rules unless she had to. Since she didn't feel like killing Ikkaku, she didn't. The first time they fought, she cut up his sword and left him wounded, but not fatally. Division four was able to fully heal him over night. This time she unleashed her Kido, her spells. It was over so quickly. Ikkaku was bound and helpless in seconds and Jade hadn't bothered with the incantations. She hadn't even bothered with the names, an act that further reduced their power, and still her third seat was no match for her. Tori stifled a laugh. Everyone knew how powerful Jade was, that's one of the reasons they feared her. Tori wondered why the division was so determined to get rid of her. Yes, she was a gank, but her personality matched the mindset division eleven. They were brutish and bullying and Jade was their queen. Yes, they specialized in hand to hand combat and direct attacks, and while Jade felt that it was dumb not to use any weapon available, she otherwise represented them so well in Tori's eyes. It further added to her feeling of something not being right.

Tori decided to go ahead and check in with Sikowitz. The trip to the academy was a moderate distance, and since she was in no hurry she just walked. No flash step, no shortcuts, no teleportation Kido, just the leisurely walk. Tori had plenty of time to kill. The half hour it took her gave her time to think. It didn't help. Everything was as it had always been, yet she knew it was wrong. Now she was sure of it.

"Tori, what brings one of my favorite students here to the academy?" Sikowitz asked. His class was running another one of the obstacle courses, and of course to make it more fun he had them running backwards. Through the various sounds of cadets smacking into things Tori could see their awareness of whats around them opening up. His methods were crazy, but the man got results.

"I don't know. Nothing. Everything. It's just wrong. I can't put my finger on it, but it's all wrong somehow. I wish I could explain it, or figure it out." Tori was feeling her frustration, and in the moment let go of her tight control of her own spiritual energy. The pressure she generated forced the cadets to their knees.

"Tori please calm down. My students don't need the added obstacle of trying to move while near an unleashed captain. Now focus on controlling your power. Good. Now, for what's wrong, I think you've been cooped up in this place too long. Look for an excuse to go to the world of the living, hunt some hollows, let go. You'll feel better, and my students will feel a lot better." Sikowitz explained.

Tori liked the idea. It would feel good to get away and just let go. Of course, going to the world of the living was not standard for captains, but Tori felt she could get permission for a training mission. So she went to the Central 46 and asked, receiving their permission to take an advanced class from the academy to a city that was experiencing a rash of weak Hollow attacks and coordinate a hunt. They would have the chance to destroy some wanker hollows and she would be there if anything nasty showed up.

Gathering her group from Sikowitz, she opened the portal to the world of the living, specifically The City of Angels, and they headed out to what for the class would be their first hollow hunt. Captain Vega, along with one of the academy instructors, would supervise and be there if things got too real. Tori was used to being the strongest among any group she was in, but this was ridicules. If Tori had to cut loose, even the instructor would be floored by the release of power. She decided to be careful unless necessary. "Look out Living world, a Captain walks among you today." She whispered. Then the portal put on the temporary limiting tattoo every Captain and Lieutenant got and her power was restricted to one fifth normal, or simply overwhelming.

The hunt was going okay. The hollows around this sprawling city were mostly the weakest kind, and her group was able to take them out with minimal casualties. It was weird watching them in what looked to be hard fights facing creatures that might not survive a glare from Jade, but it was a good training exercise. Things were looking up, despite the growing familiarity of her surroundings, until they traced a stronger hollow to the Hollywood part of the city. Tori destroyed it before it could invade some multistory building that was far too familiar. Further adding to her confusion was the barrier. The building, calling itself Hollywood Arts High School, had what to her was possibly the strongest barrier she had ever encountered. Before she could try and break it, one of the advanced students wandered right through it trying to get a good look at something nearer the building.

"This is weird. I'm held back by some kind of barrier, while you can walk right in? I'm not sure what's going on, but I need you to carefully look around, but don't draw attention. If it can hold me back, I don't want to know what it can do to you." Tori told the cadet.

The cadet disappeared into the building, and for several minutes Tori anxiously waited. The rest of the training class had gathered, the days hunt finished, while the instructor went on and on about how they should be getting back to the soul society. Finally, the student who went in returned to make his report. He, like all the students, had brought a recording device to use for training purposes, though many had used them for sightseeing. His was in still his hand.

"Well?" Tori asked.

"I don't know how to tel you. I have this recording device we were supposed to use if we wanted Sikowitz to critique our techniques, and I used it just because I was sure no one would believe me otherwise." He said.

"Give it to me, I'll watch it later. We need to be getting back." Tori decided as she spoke, and she opened the portal to the Soul Society. The division hurried through, heading home. Tori took the recording device for her to review.

It was night in the Seireitei, and the trip had left everyone feeling tired. Tori felt weirder than ever, her sense of familiarity in the City of Angels adding to her feeling of something being wrong. She had intended to ignore the cadet's recording until morning, but decided to watch just to help ease her mind.

Tori hooked the device up to a screen and hit play. She saw students moving around the school. It was apparently early morning, understandable since the soul society tended to be on Asian time, so the end of their hunt was late for them but early for the people of L.A. One of the students, a cheery girl of about seventeen, walked across the hall to talk to a grumpy girl of about the same age. It would have been a forgettable scene, except the girls looked just like Tori and Jade. Captain Vega and her sister, who was watching to keep Tori company while taking any open moments to inform her what happened that day at the lieutenants meeting, were both floored by the resemblance. The Jade clone kissed the Tori clone, and the two talked about some assignment they had to do for some class or another. Then more figures walked by, on their way to classes but looking to talk for a few seconds. She swore she saw a clone of captain Oliver, and one of captain Harris. She even saw a clone of lieutenant Shapiro carrying a lifeless dummy that was the spitting image of captain Powers. There was even a clone of lieutenant's Valentine and Vega. The cadet had been thorough, looking around the school to find any other lookalikes. His actions had led to the discoveries of those clones, and one more. First he'd heard the name Sikowitz, and his search had sped up. After finding some of the other officer clones, he saw the crazy teacher. Quickly the image was blurred as the cadet hid. It took him several moments to realize than none of these figures could see him. Like most of the living, they were blind to creatures of the spirit world. Only the Tori clone seemed to notice something was off, and she had other things on her hands, like the captain West clone's strange need for affection.

Tori was floored. All of the so called 'suspicious' ones, each one a captain or lieutenant, had a clone in that school. Tori suspected her answer lies in the uncanny resemblance of those teens. Of course, those were kids, no more than seventeen, while her and her friends had been around for years, possibly centuries. Her memories want back that far, but the further they went the more they started to get fuzzy and confusing so she didn't like to push it. Why did these teens look so much like them. Tori needed to find out.

It took her two days to get the courage up to ask for help. Obviously it would be best to keep her suspicions withing the already outsider group who were all involved in this Hollywood Arts thing. She had thought of getting a gigai and infiltrating the school, but decided to let the others in on what she had seen first. Maybe they had an idea of why there were clones of them running around together.

It took her another two days to arrange a clandestine meeting. Once they were all in her quarters, she played the recording and watched as the others slowly became confused. None of them had a clue what was going on, and it could be months before they have a chance to follow up on the weirdness of their clones among the land of the living. Rex had a thought.

"Maybe their our gigai from a past mission. The artificial souls would be running them with their own personalities, and we know that high school age covers are common for those of us who look young enough." Rex said. Even as he said it, he knew it was wrong.

Still, another idea sprang into their heads. They needed information. Maybe they needed an agent in the world of the living to look for it, but in the computer age that agent could be anywhere. Rex contacted one of his division members stationed in Paris, France, who took the time to visit an internet cafe, and while there found Hollywood arts on line. Once that was done, the soul reaper looked them up on the schools unofficial website, the Slap. Rex had arranged a relay so he and the others could quickly find out what his agent found. None of them liked it.

First, all the clones had their names. And on top of that, they had lives going back years, but the recent developments were the most discussed on the forum. Like how Tori Vega was suddenly and unexpectedly dating Jade West. It happened fairly recently, a little more than two weeks ago, after a gas leak had nearly killed them and several others. Further research of 'Slap updates' clarified what had happened. There was an after school meeting of the ping pong team in the classroom of one Erwin Sikowitz, the drama instructor. The team members were Tori, Jade, Jade's ex Beck Oliver, and their friends Robbie Shapiro, Cat Valentine, and Andre Harris. For some reason, Tori's older sister Trina was there as well. Together, except for Trina, they were the main movers and shakers at school. They were the students who starred in all the plays, sang all the songs, and otherwise were the center of the school universe despite all of them being juniors. While Trina, who was a senior, wasn't one of the so called 'Main people', she was main people adjacent. Trina was the one person in the room not on or affiliated with the team, and was simply there to give her sister a ride home. The story about the incident was widely told around the school, and cause for a lot of speculation. Not only for how they nearly died, but because they all changed after it happened.

Apparently After the incident, there were a some personality changes, notable but within the limits of believability, that affected the group. Tori and Jade dating was just one of the outcomes. Cat became just a touch more serious, sill acting like an innocent child but less naive. Andre was still a player, but more open about it. He was looking for a long term girlfriend now, his dating around his way to find that girl, and his relationships lasting longer than a week. Beck was a little more reserved, letting his friends work out problems before jumping to the rescue, while more concerned with his duties as a school leader. Robbie was more independent. Rex was still a big part of his life, but the puppet could be left in his room for weeks, and only checked up on occasionally. The funny boy was far more used to doing things without Rex. Then there was Trina. She had changed her focus, and was pushing her acting and fighting skills, looking to do stunt work until she could land a gig as an action star. Her sense of organization also vastly improved.

The group of captains and lieutenants stopped reading the synopses sent in by Rex's agent. It was more and more obvious that these clones were modeled after them. With the exception of Tori and Jade dating, the personality changes reflected who they were as officers. Tori wondered what they should do about their clones.

"We go and collect them, then find out who's behind it. I bet whomever responsible has someone watching them. Once we have the clones, we can find out what's going on, and when whoever's responsible shows up to see what happened, we can get them." was captain West's suggestion.

"Let's call that plan D." Captain Oliver said. "It's obvious whatever's behind this is strong, strong enough to put up a barrier that held out captain Vega."

"Like that's so hard." Jade spat out quickly. Tori looked hurt, even though she knew she should be used to Jades attitude by now.

"Anyways, we need more information. I think we need to talk to someone who knows about this kind of stuff. Maybe captain Kurotsuchi can shed some light on things." Beck said, ignoring Jade's outburst.

"I'm not crazy about that plan." Captain Harris said. "That guy is scary crazy. I mean, captain West is crazy, but a good crazy." He added quickly. "Mayuri's more sadistic. Captain West may like the suffering of others, but she has a limit she wont go past, and doesn't inflict bodily harm just to watch people suffer. Captain Kurotsuchi is just a whack job."

"I think we should talk to the man" Captain Powers said. Of all the captains, he was the most insistent on his peers and friends using his first name. "I mean, yea he's scary, but Jade is far scarier, and she's on out side. I'm not saying we may need to use force to get our answers, but I am implying it."

"I like unicorns" Lieutenant Valentine said. "I just wanted to be part of the discussion." Eyes looked at the division eleven lieutenant, most a little frustrated except for lieutenant Shapiro, who had a crush on her for what seemed like forever. "One time, my brother..."

"So we have two votes for visiting the mad scientist of the soul society, and one against, with one beautiful and sane voice calling for more direct action. How does everyone else vote." Jade said quickly, glaring at her lieutenant.

"I hate to be the one to agree with Rex, but I think we're out of our area's of expertise." Tori said. "Regardless of what we do, we will need to speak to captain Kurotsuchi sooner or later just to analyze whatever data we gather. Also, I'm reluctant to raid the world of the living just to snag what could be innocents. Until we know more, I think we need to limit our inquiries to the soul society. Also, we're going to need to inform Sikowitz about this. He has the right to know." Faces around her nodded their agreement.

"Okay then, Tomorrow after we get the day going I suggest we all go and pay a visit to Sikowitz." Beck said.

"I agree with Beck." Trina said. "What, I like to think I matter too. I'm part of this, and while I'm only a lieutenant, I think my voice matters as much as anyone's."

"I'll treat whatever you have to say with the same reverence I reserve for Cat's stories about her brother." Jade said.

"I can't believe they got a clone of you to date her." Trina said to Tori. The room shook as Jade's spiritual power slipped from her control for just a second. A quick reminder of why it was dangerous to upset the captain of division eleven.

"Jade, calm down." Tori snapped, then her voice softened. "We know you mean well, but you can't rely on intimidation all the time. We're dealing with an unknown, and we will need willing help to figure out what's going on."

Jade had already started to regain her control. She'd never admit it, but her power was sometimes difficult to contain. She often thought about getting something to do it for her, if for no other reason so she'd have more of a challenge when she trained. She knew the research department made something like that, but not why or how she knew. "I'll calm down because I want to." was her reply.

"Okay, I think things are getting just a bit out of hand. Tomorrow we go and visit Sikowitz, and see what he thinks we should do. We make our decisions from there." Beck decided.

"And if I want to go my own way?' Jade asked.

"Then we won't be there to clean up your mess." Tori said. "Besides, we know you like Sikowitz, and you can terrify the cadets."

"Okay, but the students had better be scared. I'm not going to be happy." Jade said.

"Relax, they will. Wait, what?" Andre said.

"Jade hates being happy." Beck said. "Another reason she doesn't like to get lost in battle. She might enjoy herself."

The captains broke up their meeting to go make arrangements for the next day. Each had to be sure their divisions had something to do and that no one would question what they were doing together. It didn't take long, with captain West being finished first. She walked in, tied up Ikkaku, let him know there would be no challenges until he got stronger, and gave them their assignments for the next day.

The others also set up their next day, with Beck, Andre and Rex giving orders to their lieutenants. Once the lower officers were informed what they would be doing, the captains and select lieutenants were free to head out after breakfast. The whole thing was strange, but had to be done soon, before the next captains meeting. Tori wanted answers as soon as possible, both to ease her mind and so she could earn brownie points with the head captain for figuring things out.

The trip to the academy took longer than the leisurely half hour it normally would. The captains, not wanting to draw suspicions, were careful not to be noticed moving together. That, plus the various tensions in the group slowed them down. It took an hour to make the trip and Jade was ready to rip someone apart by the time they got to their destination.

Sikowiz was in his classroom, lecturing about the distribution of energy in kido and the use of incantations to help build mental pathways. "So even if you master a kido, the incantation will help build more energy as it builds a pathway that not only focuses your own spiritual power, but draws upon the local energies to enhance the work. Conversely, use of just the name give's you speed in casting but at a loss of power. Not even using the name is brute force, using your own spiritual pressure with no outside help and minimal focus, and thus the weakest. Under no circumstances should you ever use a spell without at least stating the name, to give your mind a focal point and help draw in energy from outside. Full incantations are far better." The class was paying rapt attention, only to have it break when the seven friends (plus Rex) walked in. The power of five captains together, even contained, was still sending ripples through the room. It was distracting. "Class dismissed. Learn the incantations for the first ten kido in your workbook, you will be using them next week." He called out to them. The students quickly exited the room.

Sikowitz turned his attention to the group that had come to see him. "So, what brings such an illustrious and decorated group of my former students to see me today?' he asked.

"Well, as you know I've been feeling like something was off. During the training exercise.." Tori started.

"I heard about what happened. The cadet told me about the clones. Rest assured, I will get to the bottom of this. You all have your divisions to run, so you probably don't have the time to check things out. I'll handle it." Sikowitz said, just a bit too quickly.

"Okay, what do you know?' asked Cat.

"Nothing. I know nothing. It's just, division twelve was interested in the students findings. I think they are going to look into it." Sikowitz said.

"I don't trust captain Kurotsuchi" Andre said.

"Which is why I said I'd handle it. We can trust division twelve. We're all shinigami here, so we should be able to get along." Sikowitz said.

"I don't think so." Cat said. "Think about it. It could all be a coincident, but if it wasn't, who could have set us something like this? Who has access to us, to five captains and four lieutenant class individuals. Division twelve has always served it's own ends first. And captain Kurotsuchi never cared about anyone or anything, including his own health. If someone is responsible for this, it's as likely to be him as anyone else." When she stopped speaking, the whole room was silent. For several seconds, the friends looked at each other, reminded that when she was on, lieutenant Valentine was capable of figuring complex things out quickly.

Tori saw that as part of what was wrong. Not the fact that Cat could figure things out, but that Jade hadn't. The dark hared captain was intelligent, but recently she relied on her power for everything so wasn't using her head or thinking things out. But Tori's memories showed that in the resent past,, Jade was good at discovering things, thinking things through and coming up with solutions to various problems. Tori knew, once they were dating, she'd help the pale beauty rediscover just how bright the goth was. Tori also didn't know why she refereed to Jade as a goth, and was determined to find out.

"Guy's, if division twelve is behind this, they're probably watching us right now. I suggest we move quickly." Tori said.

The nine of them, including Rex, left together, moving at the rate of their slowest member towards the Division Twelve barracks and the Shinigami Research Institute. It was still faster than any non-officer could have hoped to move. It takes less than a minute for them to arrive, bursting into the building and disabling the traps set up to defend against any attempt to invade this space. However, only only eight showed up at their destination. While Tori and the others notice Sikowitz is missing, they're too committed to finding their answers, so they hope he's gone to ask one of the other captains for help.

Quickly, the group of young officers make their way deeper into the lab, overcoming various traps and disabling the guards. They search around, looking for anything that could be an answer, only to find a deep, hidden and locked door that held an unidentifiable spiritual presence behind it. Against Jade, it lasted less than a second. On the other side of the door they found a strange glowing object, looking kind of like ice but not cold to the touch, within wich they could see multiple Soul Reapers seemingly frozen, looking like they were ready for a fight. Many of the figures wore the Haori of captains, while the others had lieutenant armbands. In all, eight figures were frozen in this strange block of not ice.

Behind them, they could feel captain Kurotsuchi's spiritual pressure moving up along with members of his division. Jade was ready for a fight. Tori put her hand on the dangerous captains arm and assured her that violence would not be necessary. Jade was still ready to dismantle all of division twelve, but Tori suspected that was normal for her.

"What are you doing here? As captains, I'd expect you to show respect for another divisions property." captain Kurotsuchi said. He was angry, ready to throw down, but aware that it would be a bad decision at this moment.

"What is going on here?" Beck demanded. "Who are these people, and why have you frozen them? Is it some kind of suspended animation?'

"That is none of your concern, boy. I think it would be best if you all just left. I'll send you the repair bill later." captain Kurotsuchi said.

"I'm not leaving until I get answers." Jade shot back. Things looked tense, when the spiritual pressure of the first captain was felt making his way down into the underground lab. Everyone held themselves in check, waiting to see General Yamamoto's reaction. After what felt like forever, but was probably less then a minute, the commanding officer of the thirteen court guard divisions walked in, Sikowitz by his side.

The deep voice of the fist captain was heard, breaking the tension, as he addressed captain Kurotsuchi. "I'm sorry for the damage to your lab. I suspect we should have told them the truth earlier, but I was not sure how they would take it. This is, I suppose, a situation you've had a hand in creating, but we've dealt with that already." Turning his attention to the gathered officers. "Sikowitz has filled me in on what has transpired over the last few days. I was hoping you would have a chance to live as normal a life as circumstances warranted until things were resolved, but I should have known you would find out eventually. Sit down, and I will tell you what happened and why you saw yourselves in the recording at Hollywood Arts. First off, those children are you, but not your current selves. They are your future. I know it's complicated, but I guarantee it will make sense."

"Three weeks ago, several captains and their lieutenants went out to fight a dangerous hollow who seemed to be faster than anyone, even captain Vega. During the confrontation, the creature unleashed it's power to place it's targets into a temporal rift, functionally freezing them in time. Lieutenants Kira, Hinamori, and Iba were outside the effect and were able to use Kido to slay the beast. Unfortunately, as it lay dying, it used all of it's remaining spiritual power to seal the captains of divisions three, five and seven, nine and eleven along with the lieutenants from divisions nine, and eleven. The temporal barrier was too strong, no amount of force could break through, and we had no idea how to rescue these officers."

"Captain Kurotsuchi theorized he could use a force unlike our spiritual power to break them out. He unintentionally slew several people using their life force as a bludgeon, but discovered that the barrier was weak to what he called a spark of destiny. Those who's lives would be more famous or important in the future were more likely to draw open the temporal forces. He chose your group because six of you had, no have a bright future in entertainment in the mortal world, while the other two have good futures or in Sikowitz's case help shape those with a destiny in entertainment. About three weeks ago, He seized your essences and threw them against the barrier. There was some kind of feedback, and instead of weakening the barrier, it granted you the powers of those trapped within. He wanted to do research on why you gained the powers you did, but by then we had found out what he was doing and the Central 46 forbade further research on you. Captain West seemed to be the central life force, so she took the longest to recover."

"I was left with the problem of what to do with so many powerful individuals, but it was suggested, since your memory's were scrambled with shadows of the memories of the frozen captains, that you fill in for them until we can set things right. I approved the move to make you interim captains, but not all in the Thirteen Court Guard Divisions agreed with my decision. Division eleven in particular objected to the way captain West was appointed. Still, it was and is a good decision. You are not dead in the world of the living. Withing a couple of hours of the experiment, your souls returned to your bodies. While at first it confused us, further researcher showed us why that happened. From what I've been told, keeping you here is slowly draining the temporal energies from barrier, and once it breaks, your souls will be sent back to your bodies on the day you were taken, your memories of this place just dreams, and your powers returned to the captains and lieutenants they were borrowed from." The first captain finished his story.

The group of friends looked stunned. It would take them a while to process everything, but for some of them the hardest thing to take was that their power was borrowed power. They all had memories of developing their abilities. To think that at some unspecified time in the future, they go back to being the powerless teens they saw in the recording, it was making the whole thing harder to take.

Captain Kurotsuchi, who had by this point moved to some control board where he had been busy manipulating the controls, spoke. "It seems things are not as simple as they seem. I was intrigued about the barrier that kept captain Vega away from her body. My research is showing that there is a lingering temporal energy connecting the two. I suspect it's that way with all of our substitutes, and my readings are starting to confirm my suspicions. From what I can see, while they gained the memories and experiences of the captains, it would appear that the process of using them to break the barrier altered and added to their destinies, functionally making them Soul Reapers. Apparently the spiritual powers they posses are their own. The mortal forms of them just cannot use any of it while they are here. I'm speculating that once these captains are no longer literally in two places at once, their power will re-emerge over time ad we will be forced to use them as substitute soul reapers, just to keep their abilities under control. How long until they snap back into their bodies is another area of study, and it could be days, weeks, months, or longer. Frankly, being a temporal shield, we can tell the barrier is weakening but not how much. We won't have a clue how long it takes to free these officers until the barrier breaks."

The first captain looked concerned, but quickly recovered from this new development and addressed the gathered officers. "So now you know. I suggest you keep it to yourselves. We will refer to you as interim captains until things get back to normal, and you will continue to do your duties. I trust that is agreeable with everyone?" Various senior officers nod their agreement. "We will be ready to move on a moments notice when the barrier breaks to alert your mortal selves and make sure that no hollow makes an easy meal out of a captain level individual."

Afterwords, the various officers separated and headed back to their barracks to get back to life as they knew it. For six of them, this would be a strange time. They had lives that were forgotten. Lives they would remember at some time in the future, and some time in the past. For most of them, the term Interim would mark them, but at least they were no longer suspect, just temporary.

However, for Sikowitz, things just didn't seem to faze him. He was a born teacher, and he liked having contacts he could rely on to help his students. The whole soul society thing didn't bother him because he knew several interim captains, was a respected if crazy teacher, and was doing what he knew in his heart was his calling. He was just making the best of his situation, trying to help his current students, as he prepared for the day when he would no longer be here. Of course, he knew that later, when he was no longer living, he would return to this place and probably resume what he was doing.

As for captain Vega, Tori no longer felt like things were off. She knew who she was now, and why she didn't fit in before. Tori realized she was just the first to notice, and it was because of her sister. Trina, respected and adored for the first time in years, had taken the burden of running the division off of Tori, and in doing so gave the singer the freedom to notice the things that didn't feel right. Like feeling like she'd been a captain for years when she'd only held the position for a couple of weeks. And of course, she was determined to get the group performing again, just to help add a sence of normalcy to everything.

Then there was Jade. Freed from the expectations of her family and the desperate need to be loved, Jade was able to look at life from a different perspective. She decided that she would allow Tori to date her, but only if the Latina asked. It didn't take long.

:}

That's it. I hope you're only majorly confused. From here, if I ever write more of this, it will be a series of one shot based on the idea of the Victorious Gang as powerful Soul Reapers. I make no guarantee as to any order, or if they will happen but I kinda like the idea.


	2. Chapter 2: innocent cat

This isn't great, or even good. It just is.

:}

Makizō Aramaki, tenth seat of division eleven was running some more work details while thinking about the resent happenings. About a month ago, his captain, along with multiple others, were caught in some kind of time trap by a hollow with the exceedingly rare ability to manipulate time. Now, for the last month, they had some girl leading the division. To make matters worse, the girl beat Ikkaku twice without bothering to try. The third seat of the division was strong enough to be a captain by Makizō's recollection. Ikkaku certainly did most of the training. He always had.

The new captain, now the interim captain, still bothered him. It was probably that she was one of those who shot past him in such a short time. All the interim captains went from nobodies to captain in days. Makizō tried not to be jealous of their power. He was tenth seat in the most feared division in the Seireitei, no small feat, even if he did tend to mostly run their work details and train the newest members. Most didn't have a clue just how powerful he was at tenth seat. Yes, he was the lowest of the ranked officers, but there was only one tenth seat, so he only had nine above him in the division.

His thoughts were brought back to the men he had working. They were complaining about the work, about how hard things were, and about the new captain. Makizō tried not to encourage them. He was waiting on a couple of stragglers from the new recruits, just out of the academy. As they arrived, he noticed one small girl seemed to have wandered off. He want over to talk to her.

"And you are?" He said. It was his most authoritarian voice. He wanted to leave no room for her to try and get out of the detail. All recruits had to do the work.

"I'm Cat, and you are?" She said, she seemed so happy. He'd seen them like this before, not yet having achieved their first release, and yet so excited to be a part of one of the divisions.

This girl was maybe five foot even, nice build but so innocent. Lastly, her hair was a nice brown. She had some velvet red hair dye. She looked to be heading back to dye her hair.

"I'm Tenth Seat Aramaki, and I think you should be getting to work." He said.

"But I was going to dye my hair." Cat wined.

"Listen, you can do they later. Right now, I need you to help with the cleanup of this area. We have leaves that need to be gathered, and then maybe some construction if you're up to that. Now I'll show you what to do, and you do it, okay?" He told her.

"KK" she said, sounding dejected.

The work wasn't hard, not what he assigned her. He didn't think the little thing was ready for the hard stuff. So he kept giving her cleaning duties and other easy jobs. Cat worked for about two hours before he let her take a break.

One of the higher ranking members of his squad, one of the multiple 15th seats, was talking to cat, trying to tell her about other duties she'd have to perform. Makizō Aramaki didn't allow that kind of treatment of any of his workers, and quickly let cat know what she was and wasn't supposed to do. He was explaining that to her when he saw one of the interim captains briefly appear, only to vanish again. 'What was her name? Vega?' He didn't want to worry about that now. He had a job to finish, or Ikkaku would be pissed. 'No way around it, I need this little girl to do some of the harder labor if we're going to finish today.' he thought to himself.

He had no idea what happened next, the whole work squad just stopped. It was like a force pushed them down onto their knees. Makizō recognized it as spiritual pressure. A pissed off captain, or one ready to fight. Neither was something he wanted to face. Then the voice broke through the fog.

"Cat, what's taking so long. I told you you could dye your hair, but I would need you later on. Look at you, you haven't even got the dye, have you. What distracted you this time?" Captain West was chewing out the short girl. That was when he noticed that cat was having no trouble standing.

"It's not my fault. That guy over there told me all the new members of the division had to help out with cleanup. He even kept that guy over there from telling me I had to do something naughty for him." Cat said. Makizō suddenly realized he was about to come face to face with his captain.

"All right Mustache boy, whats the deal with waylaying my lieutenant? She has other duties. I cant have her.,.Cat! You out rank this jerk!" The captain turned her attention back to her lieutenant, and the tenth seat suddenly remembered just how dangerous his interim captain was. This could get bloody.

"Jade, calm down. You know Cat gets like this sometimes. If you want, I'll have Trina keep an eye on her. Once she gets used to the structure here, this won't happen again." Captain Vega was trying to calm Captain West down. Tenth seat Aramaki hoped, for his sake, that she succeeded.

Soon the two captains were kissing, and he suspected things were going to calm down. After a few more minutes of conversation, Captain wets turned to him. "Listen up, mustache boy. You're lucky my girlfriend likes mustaches, or there would be hell to pay. As is, I've been lazy, letting Ikkaku handle all the training. Cat and I will do our parts. However, and I want everyone to know this, the next person who tries to take advantage of my lieutenants nativity will regret it, is that clear?' Everyone present seemed to get the message, so captain West withdrew her spiritual pressure back into herself, allowing the work detail to get back up on their feet. She, Captain Vega, and Cat all disappeared in a burst of speed, gone from the location.

Makizō Aramaki decided at that moment that his avoiding of all things political wasn't buying him the safety he had hoped. From that moment on, he was going to know every officer above him.

:}

Some ideas just won't go away. This was one of them. Now I inflict in on whomever reads it.


End file.
